Bases evacuated on Russian warning: Syria

Syria claims a third of the missiles fired during the US-led air strikes were shot down. (AAP)

Sites targeted by US-led strikes were evacuated days ago thanks to a warning from Russia, a pro-Assad official says.

UpdatedUpdated 14/04/2018

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The Syrian government and its allies have absorbed a US-led attack, and the targeted sites were evacuated days ago thanks to a warning from Russia, a senior official in a regional alliance that backs Damascus said.

"We have absorbed the strike," the official told Reuters.

"We had an early warning of the strike from the Russians ... and all military bases were evacuated a few days ago," the official said.

Around 30 missiles were fired in the attack, and a third of them were shot down, the official said.

"We are carrying out an assessment of the material damages," the official added.

Syrian state media said the strikes caused material damage only at a scientific research centre in the Barzeh district of Damascus on Friday.

The attack destroyed a building that includes a learning centre and laboratories, state TV said.

"The missiles that targeted a military position in Homs were thwarted and diverted from their path, and injured three civilians," state news agency SANA said.

A commander in the regional military alliance that backs President Bashar al-Assad said sites hit also included an air base west of Damascus near the Lebanese border.

The attack hit a site in Masyaf, about 170km north of Damascus, army depots in the eastern Qalamoun region northeast of the capital, the Kisweh area south of Damascus, and a site in the Qasyoun hills overlooking the capital.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been backed in the seven-year-long Syrian war by Russia, Iran, and Iran-backed Shi'ite groups from across the region, including Lebanon's Hezbollah.